Estate Planning at Every Stage of Life: What to Review and When

Elaine M. Shanley, CFP^®, AIF^®, CDFA^®

August 21, 2026

It’s easy to put estate planning in the “someday” category—especially when life is busy, family needs are changing, and there always seems to be something more urgent demanding our attention.

If you’ve been meaning to get organized but aren’t sure where to begin, you’re not alone.

August is National Make-A-Will Month, making it a timely reminder that estate planning is not simply about preparing legal documents. It is about caring for the people you love, communicating your wishes, and helping your family navigate difficult moments with greater clarity.

Estate planning is not reserved for retirement or for those with significant wealth. The right plan evolves as your life, family, and financial circumstances change.

Here is a practical look at the estate planning considerations that may arise during each stage of life, along with one important step families often overlook: making sure the right people know where everything is.

Why Estate Planning Matters at Every Age

At its core, estate planning is about creating clarity and continuity. A coordinated plan can help you:

Protect loved ones from unnecessary confusion, delays, and expenses.
Identify who can make financial and medical decisions if you are unable to do so.
Coordinate account ownership and beneficiary designations with your wishes.
Provide direction for the care of minor children.
Reduce stress for your family during an already emotional time.

A thoughtful estate plan can provide peace of mind because it replaces uncertainty with direction.

Estate Planning Through the Stages of Life

Early Adulthood: Establishing the Basics

You may not own a home or have accumulated significant assets yet, but you likely have people who would be affected if something happened to you—a spouse or partner, parents, siblings, or close friends.

Estate planning considerations during this stage may include:

Creating a basic will to provide instructions for property that passes through your estate and to name someone to manage your affairs.
Preparing health care documents that authorize someone you trust to make medical decisions if you cannot communicate.
Establishing a financial power of attorney so a trusted person can handle certain financial and legal matters on your behalf.
Reviewing beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies.

Beneficiary designations are especially important because they generally determine who receives those assets, even if your will says something different.

Estate planning may feel premature when you are beginning your career, renting, or paying off debt. However, putting the foundational documents in place is often more straightforward than many people expect.

Growing Families: Protecting the People Who Depend on You

When children and additional responsibilities enter the picture, estate planning becomes even more personal. Many parents share the same central concern: “If something happens to us, will our children be okay?”

Important considerations may include:

Guardianship: A will can name the person you would want to care for your minor children.
Life insurance coordination: Coverage amounts, policy ownership, and beneficiary designations should support your family’s financial needs and overall estate plan.
Trust planning: When appropriate, a trust can provide instructions for how and when children or other beneficiaries receive an inheritance.
Account titling and beneficiary alignment: The ownership of your property and accounts should work together with your legal documents rather than conflict with them.
Financial decision-makers: Consider who you would trust to manage financial matters if you were unable to do so.

The most effective plan is not simply one that looks complete on paper. It should also work in real life and under difficult circumstances.

Peak Earning Years and Pre-Retirement: Coordinating What You Have Built

As your assets and responsibilities grow, your estate plan often shifts from establishing the basics to coordinating and protecting what you have built.

This is an important time to consider:

Reviewing older documents: A move to another state, marriage, divorce, death in the family, business transition, or change in family relationships may affect your plan.
Revisiting your decision-makers: Confirm that the people named as executor, trustee, power of attorney, or health care agent are still appropriate, available, and willing to serve.
Preparing for possible long-term care needs: This is not about predicting the future. It is about considering how an extended care need could affect you, your spouse, and the legacy you hope to leave.
Coordinating tax and legacy goals: Depending on your circumstances, this may include state or federal estate tax considerations, charitable giving, business succession planning, or plans for future generations.
Reviewing beneficiary designations: Retirement plans, insurance policies, and other accounts should remain aligned with your current wishes.

This is also the stage when many individuals begin helping aging parents. Having your own plan organized can make it easier to assist others with these important conversations.

Retirement: Creating Simplicity and Clarity

During retirement, estate planning often becomes focused on organization, communication, and reducing unnecessary complexity for the people you love.

Areas to revisit may include:

Reviewing documents periodically: Laws, relationships, health circumstances, and personal wishes can change.
Simplifying accounts when appropriate: Consolidating or reorganizing accounts may make them easier to manage while preserving your investment and income strategies.
Planning how assets will pass to beneficiaries: Inherited retirement account rules can be complex and may differ based on the beneficiary and account type. Your attorney, tax professional, and financial professional can help you evaluate the available options.
Confirming end-of-life wishes: Health care directives should reflect your current preferences, and the appropriate people should know those documents exist.
Organizing important information: Your family should know where to find documents, account information, and professional contacts when they are needed.

Many retirees want to move from having “documents in a drawer” to having a plan their family can actually understand and use. That is where thoughtful communication becomes essential.

Estate Planning Terms to Know

Estate planning terminology can feel overwhelming. Here are several common terms in plain English:

Will: A legal document that provides instructions for property passing through your estate. It can also name an executor and a preferred guardian for minor children.
Trust: A legal arrangement that holds certain assets and provides instructions for how those assets should be managed and distributed.
Beneficiary: A person or organization named to receive an asset, such as a retirement account, life insurance benefit, or trust distribution.
Executor or Personal Representative: The individual responsible for administering your estate and carrying out the instructions in your will. The terminology varies by state.
Trustee: The person or institution responsible for managing trust assets according to the trust’s terms.
Financial Power of Attorney: A document authorizing someone to handle specified financial or legal matters on your behalf. When and how that authority applies depends on the document and applicable state law.
Health Care Agent or Medical Power of Attorney: A person authorized to make medical decisions if you are unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself.
Living Will or Advance Directive: A document communicating your wishes regarding medical treatment in certain circumstances.
Probate: The court-supervised process of administering an estate. Whether an asset passes through probate generally depends on how it is owned and whether it has a valid beneficiary designation.

Because terminology and requirements vary by state, an estate planning attorney can explain which documents are appropriate for your circumstances.

The Step Many Families Miss: Communicating the Plan

Even a carefully prepared estate plan can create confusion if no one can find the documents or if family members are surprised by important decisions.

Consider taking these practical steps:

Tell key people where your documents are stored and how they can access them.
Create a list of important contacts, including your attorney, financial professional, tax professional, executor, trustee, and insurance contacts.
Maintain a basic inventory of accounts, insurance policies, real estate, important documents, and digital assets.
Review the information regularly and update it when accounts, passwords, contacts, or circumstances change.
Have a calm conversation with the people involved: “Here is where everything is, here is who to contact, and here is what I want you to know.”

You do not need to share every financial detail. The goal is simply to reduce uncertainty and help the people you trust understand what to do.

Is It Time to Review Your Plan?

Estate planning is not a one-time event. Consider reviewing your plan after a major life change, such as:

Marriage or divorce
The birth or adoption of a child
A move to another state
The purchase or sale of a home or business
A significant change in assets
A change in health
The death or incapacity of someone named in your documents
A meaningful change in family relationships or charitable goals

Even when nothing significant has changed, periodically reviewing your documents, beneficiaries, account ownership, and contact information can help ensure everything remains coordinated.

Take the Next Step

If National Make-A-Will Month is the reminder you needed, begin with one manageable step. Review your beneficiary designations, locate your existing documents, create an inventory of your accounts, or schedule a conversation with an estate planning attorney.

At FinanceForward, we can help you consider the financial coordination surrounding your estate plan, including beneficiary designations, account ownership, insurance coverage, charitable goals, and how these decisions fit within your broader financial plan.

You can also explore these resources:

We can also help you prepare a simple checklist of financial information to bring to your estate planning attorney, helping the conversation feel more organized and productive.

A complete estate plan begins with legal documents, but it becomes truly useful when your finances, your wishes, and the people you trust are all working together.

Important Disclosures

Portions of this content were developed using resources provided by FMG Suite and LPL Financial Research.

This material was created to provide accurate and reliable information on the subjects covered but should not be regarded as a complete analysis of these subjects. It is not intended to provide specific legal, tax or other professional advice. The services of an appropriate professional should be sought regarding your individual situation.

LPL Financial Representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial. They also have access to non affiliated third parties that specialize in creating trusts and wills for use by LPL advisor’s clients.

Take Steps Today to Manage Your Estate Tomorrow